Military service costs conscripts EUR 3,600 in lost earnings
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A report issued on Friday by the Ministry of Defence shows that Finland’s system of universal male conscription costs the average conscript 3,600 in lost earnings. The study examined the impact of the time of military service on the financial situation of the individual conscript, the Finnish national economy, and the local economies of communities with military bases.
The study estimates that the average conscript misses out on about EUR 11,300 in lost pay or unemployment benefits.
However, the total financial losses are less than that, because of the per diem paid to the conscripts, and because room, board, and clothing expenses are met by the Defence Forces.
At the Kainuu Brigade in Kajaani, conscript Joonas Tikkanen knows the implications of lost income.
Tikkanen, who is from Pielavesi, worked at an appliance store until his military service began in January this year. After that, he had to cut his expenses to a minimum.
Although conscripts only spend money during leave, Tikkanen is still chronically short of cash.
"I have no savings - they are all gone. Fortunately, my parents help me", says Tikkanen, who is serving the minimum six months in the Defence Forces.
The absence of conscripts and reservists from the work force also takes a bite out of GDP. According to the study, military service costs the economy between EUR 600 million and one billion, which is up to 0.6 per cent of Finnish GDP.
The study focused on conscripts who began their service in 2005, and those who took part in reservist exercises in that year.
And what about the impact of military garrisons on the business life of a small community?
Vedat Bayraktar, the owner of a kebab restaurant in Kajaani says that the impact is considerable. He estimates that half of his customers come from the Kainuu Brigade.
"Conscripts come here every day", he says.
On weekdays he gets more military business than on weekends, when the conscripts often travel away from Kajaani to their homes.
The restaurant, which has operated in the same location for five years, will even deliver food to the gates of the garrison.
The Defence Ministry study calculates that up to three percent of the jobs in Kainuu, a region which is plagued by high unemployment rates, are linked with the outpost.
The brigade accounts for EUR 25 million worth of economic output in the area. The employment situation in the area was helped by the brigade to the tune of 827 man-work years in 2005.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 26.3.2007 - TODAY |
 Military service costs conscripts EUR 3,600 in lost earnings
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